Papua New Guinea featured prominently in a two day meeting of fiscal policy experts- the inaugural Intergovernmental Fiscal Institutions Network (IGFIN) meeting in Manila, Philippines.
The two-day meeting, held from September 28 to 29, brought together senior officials from fiscal councils, commissions and related institutions from different countries to exchange experiences on intergovernmental financing and decentralisation.
Senior PNG Officials from the National Economic and Fiscal Commission discussed reforms at intergovernmental financing.
The meeting provided an opportunity to showcase almost two decades of experience of intergovernmental financing reforms, while also drawing lessons from other jurisdictions -as the Government undertakes its current Intergovernmental Financing Arrangement Review (IGFAR).
NEFC chairman and chief executive officer Alphonse Kapi Malipu told the meeting that the question facing governments was not how much money should be transferred to provinces and other levels of government, but whether those resources were sufficient to meet the actual cost and needs of delivering services.
Mr Malipu presented on Social and Human Development Transfers, drawing on PNG’s experience across its 22 provinces, 96 districts and more than 300 local-level governments.
He highlighted the major differences in geography, remoteness, population, infrastructure and fiscal capacity across the country, which can significantly affect the cost of delivering essential services.
Drawing on NEFC’s Cost of Services work, Mr Malipu explained that PNG’s approach to intergovernmental financing is centred on functions, minimum service standards, the cost of delivering services, fiscal capacity and equalisation.
He said fiscal transfers should ultimately be assessed by whether they respond to differences in need and cost, reach services and communities, and contribute to better outcomes.
The discussions also examined health, education and social protection grants, including the role of Provincial Health Authorities, and how targeting, performance conditions and equalisation mechanisms can be designed to improve social outcomes.
The discussions come as PNG reviews its intergovernmental financing arrangements under IGFAR, almost two decades after the 2009 reforms.
Mr Malipu said the review provided an opportunity to determine what should be retained, changed and strengthened as the country’s service-delivery arrangements continue to evolve.